Thursday, July 7, 2016

This is an awesome day! BOTTLED is a novel I wrote in 2011-12 that sadly got shelved for years and years. Then, this last winter (2016), I took a chance and submitted it to Clean Reads for publication. It was accepted! It will see the light of day after all, and that bright day has arrived.

BOTTLED
At seventeen, Adeelah Naji is transformed into a genie and imprisoned in a bottle. For a thousand years, she fulfills the wishes of greedy masters, only sustained by the hope of finding Karim, the boy she fell in love with as a human. When at last she finds a note from her beloved, she confirms he has access to the elixir of life and he still searches for her.

But someone else also hunts her—Faruq, a man who plots to use her powers for evil. With the help of a kind master named Nathan, Adeelah searches for Karim while trying to evade Faruq. To complicate matters, she begins to experience growing fatigue and pain after conjuring, and finds herself struggling against an undeniable attraction to Nathan.

As Faruq closes in, Adeelah must decide how she can protect Nathan and be with Karim forever. How much power over her future does she really have, and what is she willing to sacrifice for an eternity of love? If she makes the wrong choice, the deaths of many will be on her hands.

He frowns. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you all-powerful or not? It doesn’t matter if I have endless wishes if all I can get is chutney, cold beer, and pita.”

I hold back a sigh. I prefer to tell him I’m unable to fulfill any of his wishes, limitless or not, but the bottle won’t let me lie. “My powers are restricted only when the wishes involve people. I can’t materialize people who don’t exist or bring them to you against their will. I can’t make them alive if they’ve died, or directly kill them. I also can’t change their bodies, minds, or personalities. But I’m able to take you places, modify objects, and grant you many tangible things.”

“Tangible. What’s that?”

I must say, this guy isn’t the swiftest camel in the caravan. “Things you can touch. No wishing for things like happiness, true love, and infinite world peace.”

[end of excerpt; I hope you enjoyed it!]
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YOUR TURN
Do you have novels you’ve shelved as a writer, that you hope to revive some day?
As a reader, are you noticing a lot of genie novels being released lately?
What’s your favorite paranormal subject matter (vampires, angels, genies, werewolves, faeries, aliens, mermaids, etc.)?